DuQues wrote:Well, the Gabar looks to be more grey, is larger I think, and if I zoom in on this birdy it looks like a reddish eye?

Hi DuQues ,

You’re right about gabar goshawk being slightly larger (though with some overlap) than shikra , that adult gabars are more greyish and that juvenile gabars have a more yellowish eye. In my opinion it is a gabar goshawk though , even if there are a couple of odd things about the bird.

The photo material is very good here , since it shows the bird in different positions and reveals a lot of the important characters , and therefore I feel confident in saying that this bird is not a shikra. The bare part alone rules out that species , since both adult and juvenile/immature shikras show a bright yellow colour to the feet , tarsi and cere , unlike this bird with its orange-red bare parts. Furthermore the shape of the cere/gape is wrong for shikra , the bird shows no trace of dark trailing edge to the secondaries as you would expect on shikra , the chest/belly pattern is wrong for shikra which have either a streaked/blotched (young) of finely barred (adult) underside , and so on. This link (http://www.thejunglelook.com/info/bird-info/shikra" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) shows some pictures of shikra for comparison – the bird on the top left corner is a young bird.

At a first glance the bird looks like a pretty typical gabar goshawk , but there are three things that bother me a bit.1. I can’t see the white rump on any of the pictures. I would have expected it to be visible on the 3rd and/or 5th photo but I don’t see it. 2. The bird seems to lack the clear white edged to the secondaries and greater wingcoverts on the perched bird – 3rd photo. However this seems to be a rather variable character , and on the 6th photo the bird actually shows an obvious white trailing edge to the secondaries , so that should not be a problem.3. As you mention , the bird has a reddish rather than yellowish eye. This is not really consistent with a young gabar , but fits nicely with an adult , and since the plumage suggests a young bird , that is a bit puzzling. An explanation for that could be that the bird is in some kind of transitional sub-adult state. That would also explain the colour of the other bare parts , which seems to be somewhere in between what you would expect on young and adult birds – and also explain the lack of white tips to the greater wingcoverts.

Apart from the apparent lack of a clear white rump , I feel pretty certain that the bird on these photos is an immature/sub-adult gabar goshawk.

The second one was seen near Skukuza, grey with what seems to be white spots on the back, fine grey barring on the chest and belly, yellow cere and legs, but seems smaller than the first raptor. It makes me think of gabar goshawk, but the barring colour is wrong, so too the eye and tail? The tail has a broad black stripe on the tip and smaller black barring on the rest of the tail.

The photo's are not great, as it was overcasted and very early.

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As you may have noticed above, I am still a junior birder who struggles with Raptors, but from what I see, (and the little I know) may I suggest Little Sparrowhawk on your first Raptor?From what I can see the Fine chest barring is too fine for the Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Ovambo also has red eyes, and sometimes grey shades on the thighs, also with an orange Cere and legs.

Would love to hear what the other guys have to say.

The second bird, believe it or not also has almost too many similarities with the Little Sparrowhawk to be discounted....But possibly a Shikra?

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Yolandé Oelsen wrote:The second one was seen near Skukuza, grey with what seems to be white spots on the back, fine grey barring on the chest and belly, yellow cere and legs, but seems smaller than the first raptor. It makes me think of gabar goshawk, but the barring colour is wrong, so too the eye and tail? The tail has a broad black stripe on the tip and smaller black barring on the rest of the tail.

I'm fairly sure this is a Shikra. Little Sparrowhawk has two very distinct white spots on the upper tail.

"Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel." -Homer Simpson

Spotted this Sparrowhawk this March near Transport in KNP.Could someone please tell me if it is a Shikra or an Ovambo Sparrowhawk?And what is the main reason for your identification?Surprisingly enough the bird didn´t fly away when I stopped the car (in my experience most Sparrowhawks waste no time to take off) and kept on watching the area from his perch

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